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New layout and review of Future Hearts

Today, All Time Low have released their sixth studio album Future Hearts in most countries. I took this opportunity to create
a new layout with the colours of this brand new record. Please let us know what you think about it on social media.

Check out the review of the album written by Oh Calamity.

Back in 2012, All Time Low released their fifth album Don’t Panic through Hopeless Records to make up for their previous record Dirty Work, which had received an unjustified bad reception from both fans and critics. Don’t Panic was thus seen as a fresh start for the band, but it featured songs which lacked originality. With Future Hearts however, All Time Low steps up the pace and dares take more risks through new sounds and deeper lyrics.

As the intro Satellite kicks off, I have to check once or twice that it is indeed an All Time Low record I am listening to. Alex’s auto-tuned voice sounds strange at first, but it becomes more recognisable by the end of the song. The lyrics “driving in a car with broken tail-lights" set the scene for the whole album, which is all about running away from home and living new experiences. The track sounds like Green Day’s “Nobody Likes You”, which is part of the song “Homecoming” from the album American Idiot.
Kicking & Screaming is a straightforward pop-punk song, and a perfect start to the album. The influence of the Foo Fighters on their music can be heard, mostly at the end of the track through Alex’s screaming. However, the ending of the song is cut by the next track, and this problem of transition appears multiple times on the album. Next up is the first single off the album, Something’s Gotta Give. While it is not the heaviest song in the band’s repertoire, the lyrics show how much the band has matured. It is an anthem for the youth who want to escape their everyday life. The second single Kids In The Dark follows the same pattern with heavier guitar riffs, and the lyrics advocate the rise of the young and the broken. While the next song Runaways falls within the theme of fleeing the real world, it is one of the weakest tracks on the album musically speaking. It offers nothing original and is reminiscent of “Me Without You (All I Ever Wanted)” from the reedition of the previous album, Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now!
The track Missing You deals with a serious issue, in other words depression. However, the light-hearted melody brings a contrast to the song, which can represent hope. It would nonetheless be hard to fit this song into the continuity of a live show without changing it, as it does not sound pop-punk nor pop-rock. Cinderblock Garden is probably my favourite track on the album. It focuses on seeing the good in every bad situation, and being the one to actually make a change: “Let's take the worst and make it better.” The instrumental part is amazing, although the repeated “oh oh oh”s are unnecessary to make this song a good one.
There is a “Stay Together For The Kids” vibe to the following song Tidal Waves, which features Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus. It is the slowest track on the album, and probably one of the most beautiful songs ever written by the band. There is no doubt it would be a great fit for the slower part of their live shows.
Don’t You Go sounds like old-school Fall Out Boy crossed with Dirty Work. This pop-punk song is a perfect balance between old and new All Time Low, especially with the lyrics “I want a one night stand, just one more time with you”, which are a revival of the Nothing Personal era. It is one of the strongest songs on the album. The flat melody of the second collaboration on the record, the song Bail Me Out which was written with Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden, makes it the weakest song on the album.
The last part of the album gets a fresh start with the marvellous Dancing With A Wolf, which is another favourite of mine. The melody is innovative and the song is energetic. The Edge Of Tonight was obviously written to be sung in an arena. It starts off as a sad song which gradually evolves into an anthem full of hope. The closing track Old Scars/Future Hearts was perfectly chosen. The song brings together all the themes of the album while having a positive perspective on life. Therefore, it is the best closing track ever written by All Time Low. “We've got scars on our future hearts but we never look back.”

This record does not sound like All Time Low, and this is what makes it great. While I have nothing against the band’s older material, it feels good to see them try new things and not get stuck on the past, as was the case with Don’t Panic. To me, Future Hearts is the Dirty Work of Hopeless Records. It is one of those rare albums which are under-appreciated, yet amazing. The growth of the band is clearly shown in Future Hearts, and it could probably be the band’s best album.

Acoustic shows: Videos and pictures

Four videos from yesterday's acoustic show were posted on YouTube, and you can watch them below. Check out the songs Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't), Kids In The Dark, Something's Gotta Give and Weightless.

A few new pictures from the last two acoustic shows were added to the gallery.

Throwback Thursday: Sydney 2009

For this week's Throwback Thursday, I have added pictures which were taken at the Take Action Tour, which took place in Australia in 2009. Check out a few pictures taken in Sydney below.
As for the video of the week, watch the band performing the song The Girl's A Straight-Up Hustler.

European tour: Video and pictures (Paris and Cologne)

A video from the signing session which took place in Cologne last month was posted on the web and you can check it out below.

Many pictures from this signing session were added to the gallery last week. I have also posted a lot of pictures from the show, signing session and press conference which took place in Paris. They were taken by Gaëlle Pitrel, who gladly let us share them with you.

Rock Sound: Behind the scenes of the photoshoot

The magazine Rock Sound has just posted a video in which we can witness the behind the scenes of the photoshoot which the band did for the latest issue, which was published today. Check out the video below.